I received my first CHC movie package a few days ago. Though I am slightly intimidated by the daunting task of watching five movies AND reviewing them (oh, the humanity!), I did squeak out a little girly giggle as I perused the offerings. And let me tell you, there was no doubt in my mind as to which movie I would watch first, though you might not believe a single word of my review unless you watch it, too. I think the guys at CHC wanted to test my mettle.
Repligator is a comedy/horror/exploitation amalgam of hilarity. Picture this:
I’m kinda getting
tired of taking a chance on an unknown movie and then liking it. I mean, this
is Cinema Headcheese. I take pride in holding myself to a certain standard of
crap and bitching about it.
Geez.
As I wasn’t
planning to review this particular film, I didn’t take copious notes. That will
help this to be a more spoiler-free review. The film is also from 2018, so it’s
still relatively new and probably not on a lot of people’s radars.
The Dark is about
two teenagers who bond and heal in the wake of traumatic experiences. Mina,
after being killed by her mother’s molesting boyfriend, wakes as a zombie in
the woods near her home. She must kill and eat humans to “survive”. Several
years later, she crosses paths with a wanted criminal who trespasses into her
territory, and promptly kills him. While searching the man’s car for goods, she
discovers Alex, a teenage boy the man had kidnapped then blinded through
torture.
As Mina takes
Alex in tow, trying to find him food, shelter, and help, the two create a
strong bond of friendship, each a healing force for the other. Though in order
to keep Alex safe, blood’s gonna get spilled.
I actually don’t
want to say more than that. I don’t want to break down the film scene by scene,
like I usually do. I will comment on a few aspects, of course. Despite there
being a lot of division among reviewers across the internet, I don’t think
anyone can deny this film throws an emotional punch. And I haven’t been able to
stop thinking about it ever since I watched it.
About 80% of the
film is carried by two people: Nadia Alexander and Toby Nichols, who play Mina
and Alex respectively. The subject matter, zombie aspect aside, is very heavy
and these two bore the brunt of it well. Using the zombie trope to explore and
discuss issues like molestation, rape, kidnapping, torture, brain washing, and
murder through the eyes of the teens that experienced these horrors is
something I haven’t seen before. At least, not with this strong emotional
connection. Even Mina’s zombie isn’t typical. She’s not a brainless, shambling,
cloudy-eyed automaton. Aside from the killing and eating people, she could be a
“normal” teenage girl.
Toby did a
fantastic job of playing a teen who’d obviously been so traumatized, he was
reluctant to go with Mina even after she told him his kidnapper was dead. He
lived in fear that the man would come back for him or find his family and kill
them. When we first encounter Alex, he’s in soiled clothes with burn scars over
his eyes. But we didn’t need to see him go through that hell. Toby showed us
plenty through his acting in the film. Same for Mina. We do get some flashbacks to give us an idea how she got to this zombified state, but Nadia shows us plenty without us having to witness her personal trauma.
There is no
soundtrack. There is one simplistic song, “Mina’s Theme”, that plays a couple
times. Or the kids hum a soft tune once or twice. But I think the lack of music
made this a much more powerful film. That in conjunction with the
cinematography created such a bleak and unforgiving world these kids had to
live in.
Most of the film
is dark, lighting-wise, I mean. I don’t know if that was a director’s choice to
show that we each have darkness to contend with inside and out, or that the
world is a dark place, hence the title of the film. Darkness can be different
for everyone, and from some of the character development in this movie, I’d say
the teens weren’t the only ones who had suffered at the hands of something dark
and terrible.
The one main
thing I didn’t like was the pacing. It did drag a bit, and some scenes went on
a little too long. But only checking my watch once or twice during a 90-minute
film is fairly good, so it wasn’t as bad as others I’ve watched in the past.
I did try to read
up on a bunch of reviews because the ending is a little…huh? And after
discovering NO ONE had any answers or theories out there, I realized that the
writer may have left the ending a little vague so each viewer could interpret
in their own way. I can’t really say what I think the ending means because it
would give too much away. But it did give me hope for Alex’s recovery, and for
Mina’s, too.
Is this a
supernatural tale? Sure. Is it a human story? Absolutely. What it means for you
will be different than what it means for me. And stories that keep me thinking,
long after they’re over, are some of the most beautiful stories out there.
It’s on Amazon
Prime if you’d like to check it out for yourself.
4 hatchets (out
of 5)
Get books, comics, graphic novels and more at bunny17media.com. Use the code CHC at checkout for 15% off your purchase!
…ya’ know??
This able-scribing reviewer…nay, even more so, this ardent devotee of the
cinema macabre and fantastique…hath seen it hundreds of times. Uh, no…not the rather
cool lil’ movie, which will momentarily get a sweep of keenly focused and
illuminating spotlight, herein. Rather, we’re talking the multitude of times
having been in the attentive audience of special screening personal appearances,
movie-based lecture events and film convention forums…the film stars, the genre
writers, the directors, the filmmakers and behind-the-scenes contributors…often times, once
fans themselves, and now embracing their own fans…with the unrelenting gauntlet of varied questions asked by
eagerly inquisitive forum attendees…’what was it like, working with (fill in
the blank)’…’how did you manage to…’…’what are (you) doing now/what are (you)
doing next?’…and so on…
…and time
& time again…from the more ambitious few in the audience…the same, if not
similar question of ‘…if I wanted to get started, how would I get started…how
could I get my stuff out there??’ And without missing a beat…to a varying
degree, the seasoned response is almost always, ‘…really?? Just get out there
and do it…don’t be afraid of taking the chance, given an unswerving passion,
and a respectable measure of resources…even the smallest and unpolished
projects, given one’s heart and passion, may be well enough to get the ball
rolling…even towards something bigger…’…or well, something along those lines…
This is a little different. A fan 're-imagining' of sorts. These are prevalent online, but I think that this the first shot per shot that actually had a decent release. Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated from Wild Eye Releasing takes us, finally, on a unique journey through a story that most film fans, horror and secular, are familiar with. The story itself is a remake of the original Night of the Living Dead, complete with same characters, plot devices and pacing and even uses the original audio and soundtrack. What NOTLD:R gives us, though, is over 150 artists working in various mediums in order to tell the story. It is a unique mish-mash of animated styles and interpretations that only works because of the story’s familiarity, but serves better as a cohesive inter-modal art show with a thematic backbone. The original NOTLD is a classic and has been seen, and re-seen, by millions. In its wake, though, the zombie apocalypse story has become contrived and, evidenced by even Romero’s most recent work, a unique take on the sub-genre is not forthcoming. So, what Michael Schneider and his NeoFlux Productions has done is remade the original zombie apocalypse in multiple formats. Each contribution to the film will not be the particular ‘cup of tea’ to every viewer. That’s fine and, in creating NOTLD:R in such a manner, Schneider has made the zombie apocalypse relevant again.
...OK!! OK!! I admit it. I am an absolute sucker for those Echo Bridge multi-movie bundles. Yes, those bargain-bin, mish-mash cult film collections, often butting the most familiar, up against the most obscure. A treasure-trove of long-time movie favorites, with preferred-to-be-forgotten cinematic fumbles. Big-budgeted matter-of-facts, mated with low-budget, independents oddities. Cheezy, no name direct-to-video fodder...and big starring, director-notable okie-dokes. The 'dumping grounds' for lesser studio efforts and public domain classics. The campy, crazy and nutty stuff, originally released singularly, from distributors like Midnight Releasing, Full Moon Pictures, The Asylum, Brain Damage Films, Alliance Releasing, York, and countless others...
...a buck or two'll typically get ya' four or five of these films, laid out on one disc...four or five bucks'll get ya' ten of 'em, and so on. Most of the film titles on the smaller bundles will usually all be found on the 'step up to eight-or-ten' film' collections, along side one or two rarities. And most of those will be found on the 15-to-20-film collections, along side even more obscurities. And often, it genuinely becomes worth the slight extra cost to double dip on a bunch of others, which might be sitting on one's video shelf, in one previously purchased collection, to get that singularly unique and obscure rarity, which might be only available on that attention drawing second collection (...heck, I remember collectors going all ga-ga over the unceremoniously released, under-the-radar editions of the bloody, 1980 'Bigfoot' horror obscurity, "Night of the Demon", as well as the under-appreciated 1983 slasher entry, "Curtains" in this venue, before a couple of the major cult film distributors picked them up, 'legitimately' and the allure of collectible 'special features' editions)...
Oh, boy. It’s a horror comedy. I’m not opposed to the genre blending, of course, but sometimes it fails so spectacularly that I’m put off that particular brand of film for hours. Even days. The Nordic peoples have proven themselves capable with Dead Snow so when this film came along from their neighbor, Amsterdam, Holland (dude, I’m so baked...), though I am dubious, I am also hopeful.
Kill Zombie is a horror comedy about the zombie apocalypse. The movie begins with a man covered in green goop, brandishing a gun, as he tells us his story in flashback.
Aziz lives a life of drudgery in a corporate office. If it wasn’t for the gorgeous Tess, his life would be completely miserable. She asks him on a date, much to the chagrin of his boss, Mr. Douchebag. When Douchebag chews out Aziz for taking personal phone calls, to which Aziz explains it’s his brother who is very ill, a phone call comes in from said brother, Mo. Mo is partying up like there’s no tomorrow. Aziz is fired on the spot.
When Aziz arrives home to find his brother hosting a house party at Aziz’s house, naturally he’s a bit upset. Mo softens Aziz’s anger with a brilliant idea for them to start a business together, even though Mo is a perpetual clusterfuck-up. When Mo accidentally hits the date of a giant black man at the party, the offended guest sicks his posse (two very not scary dudes, Jeff and Nelson) on Mo and Aziz. Everyone ends up in jail.
While locked up, all hell breaks loose. Mo, Aziz, Jeff, Nelson, Joris (random banker thrown in jail for who knows what) and pretty cop, Kim, are the only survivors in the police station. They band together to fight their way to the militarized safe zone on the other side of town.
By the way, Aziz is the only one who doesn’t hit on the beautiful blonde cop AND he’s the only one who doesn’t get tasered. Heh.
Since I'm not into sports outside of pro football, I could find nothing to watch the other night as every fucking channel in the free world is broadcasting the NCAA basketball championship (March madness, indeed). To the Netflix cue! I put movies on my waiting list for different reasons: I like the actors, the premise, it’s simply horror, or a classic I’ve never seen before. But the movie I’m reviewing today had Cinema Head Cheese written ALL over it.
Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead comes to us via Japan. Helmed by former porn director Noboru Iguchi (this IS my shocked face), ZA begins with a young girl suffering from unbearable stomach pains. Her father/doctor tries to help her as best he can by punching a zombie in the stomach until it throws up some wriggly stuff into her mouth.
...you've heard it all before, but it just has to be put out there, once again...Man, what's with kids, these days?? I mean...really, huh?? You painfully bring them kicking and screaming into this world...you reluctantly, though devotedly cater to their deliberating infant needs...you tolerate, and sometimes cater to their self-serving 'gimmee, gimmee, gimmee", if at the very least, just to keep them quiet...you lavish and spoil them with baubles and toys and things, only to have them reciprocate with wanting eyes of 'more, more, more' and 'is that all there is'...you begin to sound not unlike a vocally rapid-fire tobacco auctioneer, impatiently and frustratingly calling after the child, with '...no, no, No, No, NO!! NO!!' and '...come here, here, Here, Here, HERE!! HERE!!' and '...stop it, stop it, Stop It, Stop It, STOP IT!! STOP IT!!' Like, where's the gratitude, right?? It's not a wonder, that some parents go absolutely batshit crazy (...well, they do, right?), take a sharpened axe in hand (...well, they DO, right??), and in terrorizing and relentlessly barnstorming pursuit, take matters into their own hands, in...in...uh, let's just say 'taking care of business'...even well into a ghostly afterlife. As ludicrous and horrifically excessive as such a scenario sounds, in the interim...and although no specific reason is afforded the viewers of 2013's "As Night Falls", as to why the crazed and enraged spectral parent protagonists are crazily unabashed in violently snuffing out their child, even on a ghostly ethereal plane...our wayward observers, our cast of characters, herein these ghastly proceedings, just might serve the situation best, by either staying out of the way, and letting things take their course...or standing their ground, and fighting. What do they do, you ask?? As that guy on that old game show once anticipatorily shouted out, "...survey says...?!!"...
...(...OK, movie time, movie time...Let's see...What'll it be, what'll it be...Da-ta-dee ta-dee, ta-da-ta-dee ta-dee...Ah, yes...What do we have next, on the pile...Hmmm...What's this?? "Zombie Massacre?" Presented by...by...wha...NOOOOOOO!!! Huff...huff...pant...huff...Now, wait a second...Take a deep breath... Breeeethe...Breeeethe...Breathe in...There, that's it...Now, breathe out...That's it...See, you can do it...You can get through it...After all, it's...it's only a Uwe Boll movie...)...
...sigh...alright, all levity aside, let's start off by getting the usual Uwe Boll issue out of the way, right here and now. Yes, the dude has garnished a notorious and infamous reputation for having written, produced and directed what has been indelibly striken and monikered as truly terrible schlock. Yes, there has been quite an air of mystery, regarding not only how he manages to find financing for all of his films, but also, how he manages to attract notable star talent, like Jason Statham, Ben Kingsley and Michael Madsen. Yes, as such, Uwe Boll has suffered the M. Night Shyamalan stigma of being lambasted and heavily criticized, no matter what production he attaches his name to. However, given that this viewer unfailingly keeps an open mind on just about everything set before him, and as such, tries ever so much to take each movie on it's own individual merit...well, this viewer tends to dive right in, all the while, holding his nose, so to speak...
I am a huge fan of twisted, irreverent holiday tales. Take institutions that have been around, sometimes for hundreds of years, and twist them until those institutions are absolutely unrecognizable. That, my friends, is true subversion. The fact that one would be willing to pervert the iconic ideas and imagery that many people hold dear is a testament to that artist’s desire to be a discordant voice, challenging the singsong of the majority who follow one another blindly, sheepishly, in a three part harmony of tradition. Christmas is Cancelled by Dan Henk, the first in a series of extreme horror chapbooks released by Splatterpunk in the UK, shoots straight for the heart of our highly-stylized Christmas traditions with a kill shot and, by all accounts, is mostly successful.
There's a reason why one shouldn't eat dinner while one is watching an Italian horror movie, and a zombie movie to boot. Perhaps I never watched Suspiria while trying to snuffle down a hamburger casserole. Believe me, I've learned my lesson now.
Eaters is a independent zombie flick out of Italy. Like most other undead films, this one takes place after the zombies have basically taken over. Igor and Alen, two remnant soldiers of a decimated regime, have survived along with Alen's girlfriend, a couple of chuckleheads, and a doctor. They reside in an abandoned...something. Can't tell what it used to be, perhaps a hospital, maybe a factory.
...gotta admit, it's a pretty damn good idea. Getting one's independently produced stuff out there, for all to see, by wrapping around it, classic stuff that's much more familiar to the masses...perhaps even attempting to correlate a connection between the two, in some way, shape or form. But it seems that's exactly what we have here, with the under-the-radar and off-the-charts cult film collection, "Sean Weathers Presents: Vault of Terror". For those unfamiliar (...and as of recently, not so much, as far as this viewer), Sean Weathers is a micro-budget independent film producer & director, who since 1996, has specialized in underground feature films and shorts, with a flavored emphasis on gritty, urban-based exploitation, horror and erotica...while providing a reportedly underlining social commentary, where applicable. Regularly expounded upon, via a weekly podcast, are notable titles in his repertoire, such as "House of the Damned", "They All Must Die" and "The Trade-Off", amongst others; and amidst these broadcasts, he (...along with fellow filmmaking associate, AswadIssa...both of whom spearhead film production, with their small, maverick company, Full Circle Filmworks) features classic independent and low-budget films of the past...for the most part, public domain properties...and provides insightful commentary & personal thoughts on these films, as well as how such films have inspired his own unique work...
...without a doubt, Danny Trejohas to be the hardest working character actor, working in Hollywood, these days...so much so, in fact, his very presence in genre films might well be defined as outright exploitative. After all, considering his vast and eclectically varied resume of completed and in-progress starring film productions (...a 'wow' revelation, over at IMDB), it does almost seem like he appears in just about every other genre film, under the sun...for the most part, playing nearly the same 'anti-hero'-like characters that...despite the wayward change in costume, setting and situation...do not seem all that far removed from each other, from character to character. And surprisingly enough, in most of these films, Danny is cast in roles which...despite the occasional, full-blown starring role (...uh, can anyone say, "Machete"?)...don't seem to last, or fare too long, in the course of whatever film he might be featured in...with the exploitative justification being that, despite his minimal appearance in many of his films, the powers-the-be, as far as distribution and advertising, often see fit to frontline his name and mean-looking visage on film posters and home video venue covers. Taking all that in account, it might be easy to see that.....
BREAKING NEWS!!!
"We interrupt the lovingly dedicated, in-progress celebrity reveling, with this breaking report...First-Time Filmmaker Kevin King Initiates 'Kickstarter' Campaign, In Effort to Illicit Funds for Production of Dream Horror/Actioner, Called "Zombie Hunter" (...no relation to the Japanese manga), Premieres Said Film At Montreal-Based 2013 Fantasia International Film Festival...And In the End, Concocts Slap-Together Sloppy, Very Contrived, Overly Emulative, 'So What' Eye-Rolling & Shoulder-Shrugging, and Overall Brainless Entry In Well-Worn 'Zombie' Horror Film Sub-Genre"...
The Living Corpse bursts from the ground, and with a cavalcade of other zombies, he attacks a small house. Inside are a woman, her son and her daughter. The Living Corpse dispenses with the woman and the girl, and as the boy is about to fall to other zombies, he calls to The Living Corpse. The boy wants him to remember that he is his dad. LC does, and he saves his son. That's when the military shows up to rescue the boy, Taylor. Taylor is taken to a boys' home, and LC spends the movie trying to find him with the help of a demon lord and his gargoyle sidekick.
With Michigan's first ever Zombie Convention this past weekend, I had a great opportunity to view a Japanese horror movie that won't be released in the U.S. until sometime in 2014 and coming from Synapse Films. The people at Cinema Head Cheese may not know of my love for all Asian horror but what better way to find out than to have me review this flick?
Undertaker is 70 minutes of an interesting, sad, and unique Japanese spin on the zombie sub-genre of horror. It begins with a group of children being evacuated out of an apartment building. It seems the area is to be designated a quarantine zone and they need to get the kids out before it's too late. I guess the adults are expendable.
Ryouichi gets in the van, leaving his mother behind in the dark apartment. We never see her but from her gasping words it's clear she's already doomed. As he settles in for the long ride, his friend, Megumi, naps in the seat in front of him, feverishly whispering for someone to kill her. Uh oh.
There have been many zombie movies in the last decade, and now there is even been a television show that features our brain eating friends. I've seen some of them, and they all start to have a similar tone. A virus is spread, and we slowly see the takeover happen as a few ragtag survivors fight to stay alive. This theme really goes back to the original Night of the Living Dead. This is where The Horde takes a different angle.
At an officer's funeral, a woman begs a mourner not to do what she knows he's going to do. He's a fellow cop, and he wants revenge. The same goes for a few others. She makes him promise that he'll bring them all back safe, which is just about the time you know that most of them won't.
Exit stage left? Nope, Exit Humanity. The beginning voice over tells us that there’s a war between the living and the dead. This zombie plague has nearly wiped out the human race. Wanna know how it started? Conveniently, we found this diary of a Confederate soldier, dating back to the end of the Civil War.
Edward Young has seen Hell. His first zombie sighting is during a battle. Though he can’t imagine the cause, he accepts it and tries to return to a normal post-war life with his wife and child. Unfortunately, the dead won’t let him.
After having to kill his family, Edward decides to make his son’s resting place one of peace – a water fall he saw during the war that he drew for the boy and promised to visit with him one day. Only in death will the boy get to see it.
Note: This review is for the Arrow
UK release of “Zombie Flesh Eaters” which is Region B locked. So
you will need an all region Blu-ray player or live in the UK to play
this release.
Lucio Fulci's Zombie or as it's known
in the UK “Zombie Flesh Eaters” is a classic. No doubt about it
this is one of Fulci's most beloved and widely seen films and it's
not hard to see why. This film encapsulates everything that made
1970's Italian horror so much fun.
The plot starts off with a yacht
drifting through the NY harbor, soon two cops board the derelict
vessel and soon are attacked and munched upon a very large and very
hungry. Right out of the gate Fulchi hits us with his trademark
gore.
Fear is something that has been forgotten in the horror movie lately. It's a genre that decided that gore and nudity trumped all else. Every so often, I find something that can actually put me on edge and make me feel worried for the characters. I'm also very tired of the zombie genre. It's something that's becoming tired and awful. Even worse is the zombie-created-by-a-sickness realm. It's a dead horse (pun intended) that filmmakers are beating the hell out of. Some way, somehow, The Demented, like a corpse climbing from its shallow grave, manages to live in this world while keeping itself above the fray. Yes, it's a zombie via disease story that actually broke through the muck and into my shriveled little heart.
Even with the huge popularity of The Walking Dead it really feels like the constant recycling of the zombie sub-genre has become quite irritating fans in love with flesh-eaters. George Romero can't even do it right anymore and he created this beast. It's getting to be as bad as the vampire film. Most seem to stay with similar
narratives, without really doing anything different which in the end makes them
tedious to watch. Ozombie is a zombie flick that does something different: It
takes the hunting and murder of Osama Bin Laden and...Well... let's just say it
fictionalizes what happened when the Seal team stormed his rat hole.
The movie begins
in a very promising way with the raid on his compound. There's some fast action
and zombie killing in the mix early. The zombies that Osama has guarding his
digs really do nothing to deter the Seals so it's in easy capture and kill for
the team. While Bin Laden is scrambling for a hiding spot he injects a serum
into himself that makes a zombie not long after he's killed. Once the Seals are
done Bin Laden becomes cargo on an airplane that later drops his zombified
corpse into the ocean beach-side. Then the carnage begins.
on DVD!
or 
